Samsung Takes Floating Data Center Plans Into Engineering Phase

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) signed an engineering contract with Texas-based Mousterian Corporation to develop floating data centers, each delivering 50 MW of critical IT capacity, with deployments planned in Texas and other US markets. The agreement moves the concept into the engineering phase, targeting commercialization by the second quarter of 2028, as part of a broader industry trend toward maritime AI infrastructure.

Samsung Takes Floating Data Center Plans Into Engineering Phase Samsung’s floating data centers mark a potential shift toward maritime solutions to meet the rising demands of AI infrastructure. Samsung Heavy Industries SHI has taken another step towards developing a fleet of floating data centers after signing an engineering contract with Mousterian Corporation, a Texas-based infrastructure developer. The agreement is the latest sign that floating data centers /sustainability/riding-the-wave-the-rise-of-floating-data-centers are moving beyond conceptual proposals as developers explore maritime infrastructure to address power availability, land constraints, and cooling challenges for AI workloads. Supporters say floating facilities can be deployed alongside existing power generation while using surrounding water to help cool increasingly dense AI infrastructure. In a news release today August 3 , SHI said the strategic cooperation will see the two companies jointly complete the basic and production engineering for purpose-built, moored floating data center units. According to SHI, each floating data center will deliver 50 MW of critical IT capacity, with deployments planned in Texas and other US markets. Taking to the Seas SHI unveiled the concept https://www.lr.org/en/knowledge/press-room/press-listing/press-release/2026/lr-shi-and-capital-clean-energy-carriers-corp-to-move-forward-on-floating-data-centre-designs/ at the Posidonia 2026 exhibition in June, pitching floating data centers as an alternative to land-based facilities facing increasing constraints around available sites, power, and cooling. The company said the design uses non-evaporative cooling that requires no potable water, supports liquid-cooled AI workloads, and is intended to operate with lower noise levels than conventional facilities. Other partners in the initiative include Greece-based Capital Clean Energy Carriers and Lloyd’s Register. According to https://en.sedaily.com/finance/2026/07/06/samsung-heavy-industries-to-launch-floating-data-center-by the Seoul Economic Daily, SHI aims to commercialize the platform by the second quarter of 2028. Sung-an Choi left , vice chairman and CEO of Samsung Heavy Industries, and Min Suh, CEO of Mousterian Corporation. Image: Samsung Heavy Industries From Concept to Engineering The pilot aims to demonstrate that shipyard construction can proceed in parallel with site preparation, potentially accelerating deployment of hyperscale AI infrastructure. “Signing this engineering contract transitions our partnership from intent to execution and gives us a clear path to scaling factory-built critical IT capacity for AI-class facilities,” said Min Suh, CEO of Mousterian. Suh said building the facilities to shipyard standards allows fabrication to proceed in parallel with site work while enabling deployment alongside existing baseload power generation that may be inaccessible to conventional land-based developments. Samsung Heavy Industries vice chairman and CEO Sung-an Choi said floating data centers build on the company’s decades of offshore engineering and shipbuilding experience. Momentum Builds for Floating Data Centers Samsung joins a growing list of companies exploring floating data centers as demand for AI infrastructure intensifies. As previously reported /next-gen-data-centers/japanese-shipping-firm-to-develop-world-s-first-integrated-floating-data-center-platform by Data Center Knowledge, Japanese shipping giant Mitsui OSK Lines MOL partnered with renewable energy company Kinetics in 2025 to develop what the companies described as the world’s first integrated floating data center platform. In April 2026, MOL also announced /next-gen-data-centers/hitachi-mol-to-launch-floating-data-centers-in-2027 a separate partnership with Hitachi to develop floating data centers using converted vessels, targeting commercial deployment starting in 2027. More recently, China announced completion https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202510/21/content WS68f72c76c6d00ca5f9a06f20.html of what it described as the world’s first wind-powered underwater data center in Shanghai’s Lin-gang Special Area, a 24 MW facility backed by an investment of 1.6 billion yuan approximately $226 million . Whether floating data centers prove commercially viable at scale remains to be seen. Still, the growing number of engineering partnerships suggests developers are increasingly treating the approach as a potential solution to the power and siting constraints facing AI infrastructure.